Dear friends and neighbors,
As we near the end of the 2018 legislative session, I’m pleased that the Senate has approved supplemental operating, transportation and construction budgets to fund vital projects and services across Washington.
Funding will go to:
- Open a Teen Café in Issaquah, where teens can gather to explore creative interests in a safe place and access counseling and mental health services
- Build a playground in Maple Valley’s Summit Park
- Further improve Lake Sammamish State Park
- Help Eastside Fire & Rescue in removing industrial chemicals from our groundwater
- Expand and enhance Sandy Cove Park in historic Snoqualmie
Working to make sure our community gets its fair share of support and investment is one of the most important responsibilities I have as a senator.
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In other news, I also want to give you an update on public records and Senate Bill 6617, which I wrote about last week.
On Thursday, there was a breakthrough. The Seattle Times and the Associated Press, which had sued seeking public records, agreed to put their case on hold. In exchange, lawmakers promised to work with advocates and the media to strike a balance in the 2019 session allowing the release of legislative records.
The agreement means that constituent correspondence will remain private for the time being and it removes the risk that a judge’s ruling could force me to turn over letters or emails from constituents.
Constituent privacy has always been my number one concern. Knowing that the case is on hold made me comfortable in asking the governor to veto the bill.
Going forward, I pledge to support balance in public records disclosure to keep constituents’ information private while ensuring transparency in our interactions with lobbyists.
All my best,
